The Phantom's Labyrinth
by DG Phillips
Summary: Sets begin to fall apart, actors fall ill and stage hands whisper that shadowed figures have been spotted lurking backstage. The more Sarah tries to push all thoughts of Jareth away, the more she starts to fear that what happened three years ago might have just been the beginning of a bigger story…
1. Prelude

**Prelude:**

 _"In sleep he sang to me. In dreams he came._

 _That voice which calls to me and speaks my name._

 _And do I dream again? For now I find:_

 _The Phantom Of The Opera is there… inside my mind."_

\- from _The Phantom Of The Opera_ by Andrew Lloyd Webber

...

The ballroom was just as it had been then. Lavish cushions and pillows littered the floor, where people sprawled. Waiters with skin like paper passed around trays of delicious and exotic food, and the chandeliers dripped wax. They had dripped for so many years, the wax had formed stalactites. The dancers were dressed even more splendidly, their masks as gruesome as their gowns were grand.

Sarah wandered shyly among them. She knew they were watching her, the women whispering behind their fans and the men ogling when her back was turned. She felt exposed, on display for their criticism and condemnation. Tears sprang to her eyes and she wished she could run away and hide. Somewhere they'd never find her.

Then the woman beside her stepped away and she found herself facing their host. He was resplendent in a deep blue velvet, the colour of midnight. Pale ruffles erupted at his throat, and at his sleeves, and just as Sarah stared at him, he looked right back at her. Then they were dancing, so suddenly, Sarah didn't even remember agreeing to it. He swept her between the other guests, holding her hand in a firm grip and her waist even more so. When another couple came too close and brushed against them he pulled her closer, keeping her against his body.

Sarah longed for his touch. She wanted to wrap her arms around his neck and press her face into his shirt. To hear his heart beat and feel his arms holding her. She ached for him.

And then, somewhere far off, a clock began to strike. _No!_ Sarah cried. _Not now! Please! I need more time!_ She looked to the King and he smirked, as though he could hear her thoughts. She snarled at him, even as her heart cried out for him. Wrenching herself away, she pushed through the other dancers, who had formed a ring around her, trapping her in. She fought their clinging hands and pincer-like fingers. As she pulled one insistent man from her arm she happened to glance back to the Goblin King. His expression was lost, as though he wasn't sure what was happening. He hadn't realised she would leave. He'd been so sure she'd choose him and he looked wounded by the choice.

 _Was it the right choice?_ she thought. _Should I have run?_

His mouth opened and he screamed something before the crowd swallowed him. _My name!_ Sarah thought. _He's screaming my name!_ And she hurtled headlong into the side of the bubble, the glass sphere shattering to pieces. The fragments cut at her face, her hands, her neck. Every bit of her that was exposed. She fell through the dark night, hearing the screams of the people's dreams she'd broken and yet unable to see anything but blackness.

"I have been generous, up until now. But I can be cruel".

She winced from the harshness in his voice.

"Everything you wanted I have done!"

 _I know_ , she admitted quietly, _and I understand that now._

"I ask for so little… just let me rule you and you can have everything that you want".

And even as she fell in that interminable darkness, Sarah felt a wave of conviction wash over her. _No! I will not be anyone's slave, not matter how many trinkets you offer! Dreams must be achieved, otherwise what's the point? You work for them! Fight for them! You'll shed plenty of tears before you get them. If they're simply handed to you… you haven't achieved anything… No matter what you've done to help me, you cannot give me that… And I would never ask for it._

Sarah sat bolt upright in her bed. She was drenched in sweat and her breath was coming in short gasps. She buried her face in her hands, desperate to clear the dream from her mind. It had been three years since that night and in that time, she'd managed to push all thoughts of it from her head. Yet now, randomly, it came back to her? She moaned softly and fell back against her pillows.

It was the last thing she wanted to think about.

At least, _he_ certainly was.


	2. Chapter 1

**Chapter One:**

 _"Perhaps we may frighten away the ghost of_

 _so many years ago with a little illumination, gentlemen?"_

\- from _'The Prologue'_ by Andrew Lloyd Webber

...

The spotlight came on so brightly, Sarah ducked her head and had to block it out with her hand.

"That's good, Tim", Miss Maddox shouted. "Keep it there!"

Heartland's High School Drama Teacher was a woman with ginger curls, which bobbed about her skeletal face so much she was forced to flip them away every thirty seconds. She straightened out the script on her lap and looked up at Sarah with a straight 'let's-get-this-over-with-as-quickly-as-possible' expression.

"Okay Miss Williams, I assume you've learned at least part of one of the songs?"

Sarah nodded from the stage. "I know practically all of them. I love Andrew Lloyd Webber".

Miss Maddox looked as though she'd heard that line before. "Do you know 'Think Of Me'?"

Evidently enthusiasm wasn't what this director was going for, so Sarah switched track. "Of course I do", she said, more bluntly then planned.

"Let's hear it then", the Drama Teacher nodded to Mr Manning, who was head of music in the school and had agreed to sit in on the auditions that afternoon and play the piano.

As the first bars began, Sarah started to recite the familiar words. _The Phantom Of The Opera_ was one of her favourite musicals and she knew the songs inside out, although she'd tried to be modest when speaking to the director.

"Think of me… think of me fondly", she sang.

She tried not to look at Miss Maddox, but she couldn't help glancing down at her as started. Her teacher's head had risen and she was watching Sarah keenly, for the first time that day. In fact, it was probably the first time she'd looked interested in Sarah since she'd joined the teaching staff two months ago.

"Recall those days… there will never be a day, when I won't think of you-"

"Okay, Derek", Miss Maddox waved to Mr Manning, who abruptly ceased playing.

Sarah faltered on her words. "Is-is that it?" she asked.

"Yes, Miss Williams, that will be all. Thank you", Miss Maddox said.

Sarah couldn't believe it. Singing had never been her strongest talent. She was a better actress then she was a singer. But she loved singing, and she'd been told she had a good voice. Maybe it was the broken sleep that put her voice down so much today. Damn those silly dreams!

Dropping to the floor, Sarah eased herself off the stage and into the orchestra pit. Miss Maddox didn't even look up as she approached her.

"Is there anything else?" she asked, hoping the answer would be yes.

"No thank you Miss Williams. I'm finished with you for today".

Sarah could feel tears welling up. She'd had some bad directors before, when she used to do youth theatre and in previous school shows, but never had she been treated by one as harshly or backhandedly as this before. Blinking profusely, she slung her backpack on, grabbed her books and started for the exit, going as quickly as she could without actually sprinting.

"Oh, Miss Williams?" Miss Maddox called.

Sarah came to an abrupt halt by the exit. Had she been mistaken?

"Yes?" she said timidly.

"Will you please tell the next actress to come in?"

...

"Well?" Brian leaned against the next locker, one eyebrow raised dramatically high. "How did it go?"

Sarah shoved her books inside her own locker, with more force then was really necessary. Brian was in her Drama classes, and unlike her, he had received quite a lot of praise from Miss Maddox in the time she'd been here. He too had auditioned for the end of year performance of The Phantom Of The Opera, bravely hoping for the role of the Phantom.

"Great", Sarah said with false enthusiasm. "I sang as well as I've ever sang and Maddox cut me off halfway through my song".

She had been trying to say it offhand, maybe even jokingly, as though she didn't care. But those awful tears sprang back and threatened to overflow. She wiped her eyes quickly with her sleeve. Brian noticed.

"Aw! Sarah!" he wrapped one arm around her and pulled her into a hug, rubbing her back tenderly. "I'm sure you did fine! Moany Maddox was probably just in a hurry to get out of there. She'd been auditioning people all day".

Sarah grunted into his shoulder before wriggling away. "It doesn't matter anyway", she insisted bravely. "What about your audition with her?"

He shrugged modestly. "It was okay".

Sarah waited.

"Okay, I think I did really well!" he burst out. "She asked me to sing 'Music Of The Night' and when I'd finished she made me sing a few bars of 'That's All I Ask Of You'".

"I knew you'd be great. Maddox loves you", although she couldn't help wishing Maddox loved her as well, Sarah couldn't bring herself to hate Brian and his boasting. She felt a surge of happiness for him. "I'm really pleased for you, Brian".

"Neither of us should be pleased yet. We're not allowed feel anything until tomorrow morning when we enter school together and find out who's been cast as what. Deal?"

Sarah grinned. "Deal".

They shook hands on it and Sarah wished Brian farewell. It only took her ten minutes to cycle from the school back to her house. Her Dad's car was missing from the driveway, no doubt he was still on his way home from work. Irene's car was parked however, and upon entering the front door a voice squeaked loudly: "Sarah?"

"Just me, Tobes", Sarah called.

The four and a half year old came shooting through the living room, almost toppling Sarah over with the force of his hug.

"Sarah! Sarah! Sarah! Guess what? I drew a picture in school today and my teacher liked it so much she asked me to do another one for her to put up on the wall!"

"Wow! It must have been a pretty good picture! Can I see it?"

Toby nodded eagerly and ran back into the kitchen. Sarah followed close behind. Irene was stood over a bubbling stove, her stripy apron covering her immaculate rose dress. She smiled when Sarah entered and gave her a little nod.

"Well? How did the audition go?" she asked.

Irene had surprisingly been an encouragement to her, when she told her parents she was planning to audition for the lead role. She didn't want to disappoint her by telling the truth.

"Quite well", she lied. "I won't find out until tomorrow, but Miss Maddox seemed very pleased".

Irene smiled widely. "Good. You deserve some recognition. You've worked so hard on you arts practice", she paused for only a moment before jumping to the inevitable. "How's your other school work been recently?"

"Good", Sarah lied fluently. Her parents would get her report card soon and see how poorly she was doing in Maths and Science.

"Look Sarah! Look! Look!" Toby shoved a piece of paper under Sarah's nose and she took it from him to inspect.

His picture showed a boy with yellow hair posing dramatically, (or as dramatically as a four year old can draw someone posing), in a striped shirt.

"That's me", Toby said, pointing to the boy. "In my favourite T-shirt and the roller skates I want for my birthday".

He traced his finger to another figure on the left of him. She was taller with long dark hair and a big red smile that covered her whole face.

"That's you, Sarah! I drew you too!"

Sarah hugged her little brother closer and planted a kiss on his feathery locks. Toby's finger ran across the page to the last figure who stood imposingly with one hand stretched out over Toby's head, towards Sarah.

"Toby", Sarah asked, suddenly quiet. "Who is that?"

"That's the King".

"What King?" her voice was so soft, she was surprised he could still hear her.

"My friends just call him the King".

Sarah's throat had gone dry. The picture of the King had wild blonde hair and his eyes were fixed on Sarah.

"Friends?" Sarah repeated. She looked down at Toby, who was staring at his drawing with pride. "What friends, Toby?"

He lifted his head, and his eyes were wide, with all the innocence of a child hiding a great and wonderful secret.

"My friends", he whispered gleefully. "The Goblins".


	3. Chapter 2

**Chapter Two:**

 _"Flattering child you shall know me. See why in shadows I hide._

 _Look at your face in the mirror… I am there inside."_

\- from _'The Mirror'_ by Andrew Lloyd Webber

…

Although Sarah tried repeatedly throughout the day to get Toby to tell her more about his 'friends', the child refused to answer. He would grin and giggle gleefully, looking quite like a Goblin himself, then bound away to another part of the house.

She told herself it was because of Toby's drawings that she dreamed of _him_ again.

The dream was different this time, though. She dreamt that she was in an old theatre hall, far grander than any she'd ever seen. The walls were a deeper red than human blood, and just looking at them Sarah knew they'd be velvet soft to touch. The stage was framed with plated gold, and engraved with images of battles and lovers, dancers and sorcerers. The room itself contained a thousand seats, where ghostly spectres watched from raised balconies that disappeared into the shadows of the ceiling.

The only light came from a chandelier, which hung low, dripping real wax candles and illuminated the row of seats where Sarah sat in the stalls.

 _We're waiting._

The thought came unexpectedly, but coherently and Sarah felt as though it was a thought shared by the wraithlike forms that sat above her.

 _We're waiting._

What for? Sarah wondered.

The stage before her was covered by thin curtains that appeared iridescent and seemed to billow with an unknown breeze.

Was a show about to begin? No one sat in the stalls around her, it was only the balconies above that were inhabited.

Until the seat behind her creaked under a phantom weight.

"Sarah".

His voice was feather soft, ruffling the hair at the base of her neck and she gripped the armrests either side of her.

"Are you ready?"

…

The dream left her feeling frustrated. What did the Goblin King mean? What was everyone waiting for? It was infuriating! At least when Brian approached her the next morning, as she was locking up her bike at school, she was confident she wouldn't start blubbering in front of him. Again. She was too angry to cry.

"Well?" she asked him.

"I haven't looked", at her raised eyebrow Brian shrugged. "I wanted to wait for you. I haven't even stepped inside the building yet. We can find out our roles together".

Sarah was amazed at his thoughtfulness. She wondered guiltily, if there roles had been reversed, wether she would have had the restraint to wait for him. The hallways were crowded with students, but a large group had formed around the bulletin board that hung outside the studio theatre.

"I got it! I got it!" one girl squealed. Her name was Shannon and she was tall thin and blonde. She was one of the best dancers in school… did that mean she'd make a good Christine?

"What did you get?" Sarah asked her.

"Mme. Giry! I'm Mme. Giry!"

Sarah was pleased for her - and more then a little relieved. One of the guys ahead of Sarah let out a cheer and his friends clapped him on the back.

"Woohoo! Way to go man!" they applauded.

Brian swallowed. "Hey Matt, you get a good part?"

Matt played on the football team and was big with broad shoulders. When he turned to face Brian and Sarah he almost knocked several people down.

"Yeah!", he grinned. "I got the Phantom! I can't believe it!"

Nothing changed on Brian's face, but Sarah saw a muscle in his neck start fluttering erratically.

"Wow", he said. "Congratulations. You got the lead".

"Yeah, I guess we'll be working together a lot", his smile changed to an over the top frown and he deepened his voice. "But you are now my enemy".

Sarah exchanged a glance with Brian.

"Come again?" he said.

Matt's face twitched and his expression returned to normal. "Wait, you haven't seen the board? Oh, man, I'm so sorry! There I go spoiling your surprise!"

"What do you mean?" Brian didn't even wait for him to answer, he ducked under Matt's arm and snaked closer to see the casting list.

Sarah stayed rooted to the spot. "Congratulations Matt", she said.

"Thanks. I don't think I should talk to you anymore right now though. Not until you see the board too. I've already spoiled it for Brian", he grinned and waved jauntily before striding away. When he'd gone no more then five paces, he couldn't resist looking back over his shoulder and calling for Sarah's attention. "Congratulations to you too!" Then he ran away.

Most of the students had started to leave for lessons, allowing Sarah easier access to the bulletin board.

"Sarah!" Brian shouted, before she'd reached it. "I've been cast as Roul!"

"That's fantastic!" Sarah cheered. "Are you okay with that?"

"Sure, it's still a leading role", he grinned and then without warning grabbed her waist and swung her around. "But you Sarah! After everything you said yesterday! I knew you'd do it!"

Sarah struggled until he put her down again. "Do what?"

"Get the main role of course! Miss Maddox cast you as Christine Daae!"

...

Robert and Irene were thrilled. Robert kept hugging her and kissing her hair three times in a row, the way he used to do when she was a child. Irene said she never had any doubts Sarah would get it. Even Toby wrapped his arms around her knees and repeated 'well done' a hundred times over.

Sarah waited until she was safely in the peace and sanctity of her bedroom before she allowed herself to properly celebrate. Sitting before her vanity mirror, she watched as the beaming smile that had been building all day now threatened to split her face in half.

"I did it", she told her reflection. "I did it!"

Digging into her backpack, she pulled out the hefty script Miss Maddox had presented her with at lunchtime.

"I expect everyone to have learned their first scene, when we start rehearsals after school tomorrow", she'd told Sarah, her plastic smile widening.

Flipping the script open now, Sarah skipped ahead to her first song with the Phantom. She would sing to herself before he appeared and guided her through the mirror, taking her to his lair beneath the Opera House. Sarah shivered delightedly. Damn, she loved this story!

Glancing back at her door to make sure she'd closed it, she turned her gaze back to the mirror and sang softly:

" _Angel, I hear you. Speak, I listen. Stay by my side. Guide me_ ".

Leaning closer, she met her reflection's gaze and began to raise her voice.

" _Angel, my soul was weak. Forgive me. Enter at last, master_ ".

Her reflection cracked and Sarah leapt backwards in her seat.

The centre of the glass, only inches away from where her nose had been, had shattered into a spider's web of splintered reflections. Sarah clapped her hand to her mouth in an attempt to hold back the shriek in her throat. Her breathing was heavy and she stared at the tiny fragments where she could see thousands of her own eyes staring back at her.

 _I am your Angel of music…_

Sarah's breath stopped as the eyes in the mirror seemed to change. She dared not blink as she returned the mismatched stare of the reflection that was no longer her own.

 _Come to your Angel of music..._

The chair she sat in toppled backwards as she dived to her feet and fled the room. Long splinters of glass falling out of the mirror behind her.


	4. Chapter 3

**Chapter Three:**

 _"What I once used to dream, I now dread._

 _If he finds me it won't ever end."_

\- from _'We Have All Been Blind'_ by Andrew Lloyd Webber

…

Rehearsals for Miss Maddox's production of The Phantom Of The Opera took place after school, four days a week. The first session was mainly about the cast getting to know each other, using various improvisation games and exercises. After that, it was all work, pulling the show together. Four days into rehearsals and it was time for Sarah's first full scene with Matt. Miss Maddox blocked out the stage as it would be set for the Phantom's lair and placed Sarah and Matt in position.

"Now", they're teacher instructed. "Let's walk it through. Matt, we'll take it from the start of 'The Music Of The Night'".

Matt nodded and with a look to Mr Manning, (who had become, some what unwillingly, the production's full time pianist), began to sing.

" _Night time sharpens, heightens each sensation…_ "

Sarah gazed up at him from where she sat on the stage, but in truth she was hardly conscious of a word he spoke. She had barely slept over the last week, opening her eyes every five minutes from her bed and looking at the empty mirror frame, as though she expected to see something in the wooden backing. Something. Or some _one_. She was exhausted and the extra work Miss Maddox piled on them everyday wasn't helping.

"Stop the music, Derek!" Maddox cried, several bars into the song. "Is there a problem, Miss Williams?"

Saying she was tired wouldn't win her any favours, so Sarah blinked at her teacher and kept her mouth closed, hoping to look innocent.

"Shall we try it again with a little… performance?"

Her cheeks were burning, but Sarah nodded stiffly. Taking a deep breath, she forced her eyes open wider and looked back to Matt as he restarted the song.

Matt looked right for the Phantom, he had the broad shoulders and extra height and width needed to play a character that was always slightly menacing. But the real problem was that Matt had never been menacing before in his life. Even on the football field, Matt was nothing but gentlemanly, kind and extremely nice.

When he reached for Sarah's hand now, she slid her fingers into his meaty fist, wondering if he knew that he was giving her an almost apologetic smile.

 _For pity's sake, the Phantom had kidnapped Christine and was trying to entice her to stay with him forever. He shouldn't be apologising for reaching for her hand!_

"Wake up, Miss Williams!" Maddox roared after another minute, making both Sarah and Matt jump.

Sarah had been so lost in her thoughts she couldn't even recall what line of the song Matt had reached before Maddox had interrupted them.

"I'm sorry", Sarah mumbled. "I'm not feeling very well. I…

 _I'm exhausted._

 _I'm having non sensical nightmares._

 _I think I've been hallucinating._

 _I think I'm going crazy._

"I think I need some water".

Miss Maddox sighed heavily, rolling her eyes skyward and taking the rest of her head with her.

"Fine. Let's take a five minute break, _shall we_?"

She hissed the last part sarcastically, but Sarah didn't wait around to find out wether she was being serious about the break.

Bolting off the stage she ran straight to the nearest toilets and mercifully found it empty. Cupping her hands beneath the tap, she filled her palms with warm water and then splashed her face three times.

"Come on", she whispered to herself. "Keep it together. Keep it together".

She had to focus. She couldn't let old nightmares resurface after all this time.

It didn't matter that once she had believed something stupid to be true. It didn't matter that she was thinking about it now. Because it wasn't true. None of it.

It wasn't true. It wasn't true. It wasn't-

…

 _"It's true!" Sarah insisted. "All of it"._

 _Removing his round spectacles, Mr Alistair gave her a squinting look._

 _"Do you really believe that, Sarah?"_

 _"Yes! Why would I lie about it?"_

 _He shrugged, straightening some papers on his desk. "Your parents told me they've been trying to have more family fun evenings at home. Irene said you've all been renting movies and having game evenings. That's got to be more fun than babysitting, huh?"_

 _It was with great effort that Sarah held herself back from rolling her eyes. He was forever doing this. Trying to act like a 'friend', pretend that he was seeing everything from 'her side'._

 _Were shrinks trained to be this annoying?_

 _"Toby's two", she said pitifully. "He doesn't understand boardgames, or the films we watch. They're wasting their time trying to include us both in their deluded 'family fun times'"._

 _"Mmm", Mr Alistair pursed his lips. "Irene said you hadn't seemed that keen on their ideas. They're concerned", he lifted his eyes to hers. "They said you seem to be unable to settle. That you're restless, irritable-"_

 _"I'm not crazy"._

 _She met his stare challengingly. "Everything I've told you; it's real. I didn't believe it myself at first, if I had I never would have wished Toby away. But everyone… everything that happened, it_ did _happen"._

 _Removing his glasses, Mr Alistair took his time cleaning them on his handkerchief._

 _Keeping his eyes fixed on his task, he asked: "Do you know what Mythomania is?"_

 _"No", she frowned._

 _"It's a term often used for pathological liars, usually when they've gotten to the stage of actually believing their own lies-"_

 _"I'm not lying! I'm not a liar!"_

 _"I'm not suggesting that you are", he reassured, replacing his clean glasses on his nose. "But just imagine if you were someone who believed something so much, that you were convinced it was real. Even when everyone was telling you otherwise. Imagine the nightmare that must be"._

 _She blinked at him._

 _"The hardest part isn't when you're trying to convince people to believe you, or when they're trying to dissuade you in your thoughts. It's when you have to start questioning yourself. That moment when you are forced to ask… 'What if?'"_

 _His eyes searched hers for a long time and Sarah swallowed heavily._

 _"The real nightmare, is when it comes down to you figuring out what's_ true _"._

 _Sarah's breath had begun to race, but Mr Alistair held her stare as he continued in a calm voice to break her into pieces._

 _"Imagine if you were made to believe that the people you loved and the memories you held closest to you… imagine if those people hadn't died... those memories weren't forgotten… but they'd never happened. Had never existed in the first place. All of it… had never been"._

 _A drop of water landed on Sarah's hands, which were folded on her lap, and she realised her face was wet with tears._

 _"That is the true nightmare, Sarah", Mr Alistair said. "That is what we must overcome". She had fought them all. Mr Alistair, her parents, the whole world. A world that demanded she abandon an idea deemed childish and wrong. She had fought them. But…_

 _"It isn't real"._

 _Her heart broke and the splinters scraped her insides._

 _"What isn't, Sarah?"_

 _"The labyrinth", her shoulders hunched in an effort to stop the pain. "That… world"._

 _"And the people who live there, they can't be real either then?"_

 _"No"._

 _"Who?"_

 _She struggled. "The Fireys"._

 _He nodded. "And?"_

 _"The Wiseman"._

 _"Who else, Sarah?"_

 _She couldn't stand his staring. Squeezing her eyes shut she answered: "Sir Didymus"._

 _"Who else?"_

 _"Ludo", her throat had begun convulsing as she tried not to choke on the harsh well of emotion that was building inside her. "H-Hoggle"._

 _"Who else?"_

 _She pressed her lips together. Her shoulders were shaking with the effort of holding in the roaring sobs that threatened to come out._

 _"There's someone you haven't mentioned yet, Sarah. Who else isn't real?"_

 _"… Jareth"._

…

"Sarah?"

Sarah jumped back from the sink, fearing for a horrible moment that the face in the mirror was a figment of her imagination. But it was just Shannon, the girl playing Mme. Giry, who startled and put her hand to her chest as Sarah tried to control her breathing.

"Sorry", Shannon laughed. "I didn't mean to frighten you! I thought I'd make sure you were feeling okay? Miss Maddox is like a raging bull in there. Anyone would be stressed".

"I'm fine", Sarah insisted. "I was feeling a little sick, but… I'm fine".

Shannon waited, somewhat annoyingly, for Sarah to pat her face dry with paper towels and then followed her back into the auditorium. Miss Maddox was onstage, giving Matt some direction and she raised her eyebrows when Sarah joined them.

"I'm sorry", she mumbled. "I was feeling ill, but I'm better now".

She didn't expect Miss Maddox to cluck and coo and check if Sarah wanted to visit the school nurse, but she wasn't wholly prepared for the condescending look Miss Maddox gave her, before gesturing for Sarah to retake her position.

"Now", she said. "Let's try this again", bending right down, the woman knelt at Sarah's eye level. "You are _enthralled_ by him. By everything that he is".

Hard to do when Matt the I'm-Sorry-I-Held-Your-Hand was her partner.

"He is everything you have ever dreamed of and wished for. He is your rockstar and he is your knight in shining armour", almost nose to nose with Sarah, Maddox pulled out the words. " _Feel_ it".

Not trusting her self to speak, lest she anger her teacher more, Sarah just nodded and Miss Maddox took her seat in the auditorium again.

"Matt, we'll take it from you!" she called.

Closing her eyes, Sarah took a deep breath. She couldn't think of Matt, she couldn't think of Miss Maddox. She was going to lose this part if she didn't start trying. She loved acting and she wanted this role. She wanted this dream.

 _He is everything I dream of..._

" _Night time sharpens, heightens each sensation…_ "

Lifting her head, Sarah looked at Matt and envisioned a very different face staring back at her. She remembered when the Goblin King entered her parents bedroom, in a flash of lightening and with the scent of magic rolling off of him. Her breath hitched as she recalled the smug tilt of his head, when she'd guessed who he was and realised what he'd done.

" _Slowly, gently night unfurls it's splendour_. _Grasp it, sense it, tremulous and tender_ ".

 _I was a lonely fifteen year old,_ she thought. _It wasn't real._

It doesn't matter. Use it.

Matt held out his hand and Sarah replaced his weatherworn, suntanned palm for the slender, elegant fingers of the Goblin King. She grasped his hand and allowed him to raise her to her feet.

" _Close your eyes and surrender to your darkest dreams._ _Purge your thoughts of the life you knew before_ ".

And even as Matt sang, somewhere deep in the base of her mind, another voice caressed Sarah's thoughts.

 _He is everything I dream of..._

 _Everything I wished for…_

" _Close your eyes, let your spirit start to soar_ ". Matt had taken up a position behind her, his hands resting on her waist. As Sarah allowed her eyelids to drift shut, she leaned into him, faintly surprised when the chin that grazed her forehead was rough with young stubble and not the clean cut Fae she'd been imagining.

" _And you'll live…_ "

She opened her eyes slowly, tracing a line from the floor to the wings.

" _As you've never lived-_ "

"Look out!"

The words left Sarah's mouth before she realised she was the one screaming them.

She pushed Matt backwards and stumbled away herself, narrowly missing the 7ft wooden balcony that fell sideways from the wings and hit the stage floor.


	5. Chapter 4

**Chapter Four:**

 _"Here in this room, he calls me softly,_

 _Somewhere inside, hiding…"_

\- from _'The Angel Of Music'_ by Andrew Lloyd Webber

…

The balcony landed with a crash that deafened the theatre and ruptured a hole in the floor where Sarah and Matt had been standing only seconds before.

"Woah", Matt ran a shaky hand through his hair, his eyes as wide as dinner plates. "That nearly hit us".

Mr Manning raced up to the stage and helped Matt back to his feet, keeping a hand on his shoulder until he was steady.

"That could have killed you two", he said. "Why hadn't anyone secured it?"

"The stage hands were supposed to secure it in the wings", Miss Maddox had joined her fellow teacher onstage and frowned at the broken balcony. "They were going to finish it tomorrow and place it onstage".

"Well it's very serious if they just left it in the wings and didn't even attempt to make it safe! If Sarah hadn't spotted it, there could have been terrible injuries!" Mr Manning looked from Sarah to Matt. "Are you two alright?"

Sarah had only been half aware of what they were saying. She was still crouched on the floor of the stage, her gaze fixed on the wings where she'd seen the set piece fall from.

"Sar?" two hands took ahold of her shoulders and Brian gently lifted her back to her feet. "Are you okay? You look like you're in shock".

"I'm fine", she mumbled.

Not looking convinced, Brian placed an arm around her shoulder and pulled her close to his side.

"I'll phone the Principal", Mr Manning was saying. "The rehearsal's finished for today. Send your students home Miss Maddox".

Maddox pinched her lips, but she couldn't argue when the stage was broken and covered by a fallen balcony set. Brian led Sarah down to the front row of seats, where they'd left their school bags, as Miss Maddox gave out notes and dismissed the cast.

"Miss Williams".

It took Sarah a moment before she managed to settle her attention on Maddox.

"That was a very nice performance, before it was interrupted. Do the same again tomorrow".

She didn't feel able to smile or thank her teacher verbally, but Sarah nodded to show that she understood. Brian was busy packing his script into his bag as the auditorium began to clear out. Through the double doors the students left by, Mr Manning could be seen pacing up and down in the corridor, gesturing wildly while talking into his phone. Miss Maddox had shuffled all of her notes into a neat pile and, grabbing her designer sunglasses, proceeded through the flock of students with an air of irritation.

"Even though I wanna punch a few of the stage hands' heads in, I gotta admit", Brian watched their director leave. "I would hate to be in their shoes when Maddox lets rip at them".

Hearing no response, Brian turned to Sarah only to find her hoisting herself back up onto the stage, having abandoned her backpack in her seat..

"I wouldn't go up there, Sarah", he warned. "I don't know how safe it is now that there's a giant hole in the middle of it".

Ignoring him, Sarah sidestepped the balcony and marched into the wing it had fallen from.

"Uh, Sarah", Brian watched her warily. "What are you doing?"

"Searching", she muttered.

"For… what?"

Sarah flung aside the flap curtains, peering wildly, examining every shadow.

"Sarah? What are you searching for?"

Following her suit, Brian climbed onto the stage and walked into the wings, watching as Sarah checked the handle on the door that led backstage.

"It's locked", she said, jiggling the handle fiercely.

"Yeah, it's always locked, unless students need access to the dressing rooms".

Sarah huffed in frustration. "Then where did he go?"

"Who?"

"The one who pushed the balcony over".

Brian stared at his friend. " _What?_ "

"I didn't just see the balcony fall. I saw someone push it".

"But", Brian grabbed her arm, turning her away from her exploration of the wings. "If someone pushed it, why didn't they own up?"

Sarah rolled her eyes. "I don't think they did it accidentally".

"Woah, wait a minute!"

Sarah had turned away, about to continue her search, when Brian clamped his hands on her shoulders, holding her in place in front of him.

"You really think that someone was trying to push that thing over?"

"I think they were aiming for us".

"But… why?"

Something in Sarah's face changed. A curtain fell over her eyes and her jaw locked into a hardened mask.

"I don't know".

"Are you kidding me?"

"Look, just forget it".

"I can't forget it! This is serious!"

Brushing his hands away, Sarah strode past him, aiming for the edge of the stage.

"It doesn't matter. I was probably mistaken".

"Sarah-"

"Don't worry about me, Brian".

He caught her hand before she could go any further.

"I do worry about you", his voice was quiet.

Glancing back, she saw their hands clasped together. His fingers were soft and comforting.

"Thanks, Bri", she wriggled out of his grip. "But I'm really tired and I need to get home", jumping off the edge of the stage she grabbed her rucksack and threw him a small wave. "I'll see you tomorrow".

…

"You're quiet tonight", Robert raised an eyebrow over his forkful of mushroom ravioli. "Something on your mind, hun?"

Sarah pushed her dinner around on her plate, trying to make it look as though she'd eaten more than she had.

"No", she lied. "I'm just… trying to remember lines and staging", she flashed him a ' _silly, I know, but what am I like?'_ smile.

She hadn't told him or Irene about what had happened at the rehearsal, merely said that she hadn't been needed and was allowed to leave early.

"How's the play going? Have we booked tickets yet? We'll need to get a move on it", Robert nodded at Irene.

"Mm", Sarah's stepmother swallowed her mouthful. "I'll arrange a babysitter for Toby. It's probably not suitable for him to watch".

From the seat on Sarah's left, Toby raised his head. He had been trying (and failing) to stack his ravioli into a tower in the middle of his plate, but at the mention of his name his tower collapsed into mushy rubble and his face creased into a pout.

"I want to see Sarah onstage!" he cried.

"You're too young, sweetie", the endearment fell short at the unrelenting look on Irene's face.

"But I want to see her!"

"There's nothing 'unsuitable' in the play", Sarah said quietly. "And I don't think he'd be scared".

"I want to see it!" Toby cried again. "Iwanttoseeitwanttoseeitwanttoseeitwanttoseeit-"

"Enough!" Irene clipped. "If you don't stop that silly behaviour you'll be sent for a time out. Now, eat your dinner and stop playing with it!"

Toby looked startled and Sarah shared a glance with her father. It was normal for Irene to be sharp with Sarah, and as Toby grew older and more rebellious (thanks to the influential kids in his Reception class), Irene had been forced to introduce 'time outs' in the Williams' household. However, it was rare that Irene got this angry _this_ quickly, especially with her treasured little boy.

Stabbing her fork into her meal, Irene raised her gaze to Sarah, sitting opposite her. "I ordered you a new mirror today", she stated. "That took quite a chunk out of my purse".

 _Bingo_ , Sarah thought dully, settling back in her chair. Typical of Irene to have to find the priciest mirror in the world to get Sarah. She wouldn't just go to a charity shop or supermarket. She wasn't like Sarah's real mum.

"Thanks", Sarah muttered.

"You know, it wouldn't bother me so much if you just told us the truth".

Sarah gripped her fork tighter. "I didn't smash the mirror".

"You still claim the mirror smashed of it's own accord?"

"Claiming? Since when was I on trial?"

"I want you to stop lying to us".

Sarah pushed back from the table, her chair squealing against the hardwood far. "Thanks for dinner, I'm not hungry anymore".

Robert called after her, but she ignored him as she raced away, taking the stairs two at a time until she could close the door and rest inside the sanctity of her bedroom. Sighing deeply, Sarah leaned against the door, her eyes sliding over the room around her. It had changed in the last few years; less cluttered, more books, fewer games. The walls held less posters, although a large Escher print still remained beside her bed, showing a room of staircases leading to doorways set in impossible angles.

 _Not impossible,_ she thought, _I've travelled those staircases myself._

Pressing the heels of her hands over her eyes she shook her head firmly.

"No, I didn't!" she hissed. "I never walked those staircases, they don't exist! It was all a fantasy. A dream. A lonely child's dream".

The words were the same ones her therapist had uttered, right up until the day he told her parents she didn't need to meet with him anymore.

Swallowing heavily, Sarah stumbled to her bed and collapsed face down into her pillows. She lay there for several minutes before she heard the handle of her door rattle and creak open. Only one person in the house was allowed to enter her room without knocking.

"Come in, Toby", she called, twisting her head so she could see him.

The wide eyed figure climbed onto the bed beside her and nestled into her warmth. Wrapping an arm around him, Sarah buried her face into his blonde hair, breathing in his scent and feeling a surge of contentment.

Even now, when she knew he had never been taken from her, it was something she still found herself doing from time to time. Just holding him and taking in the feel and scent of him was a reminder that he was definitely there. That she had won him back.

 _I never lost him,_ she reminded herself.

"I drew another picture today", Toby told her.

"Really? What did you draw?"

"My friends".

Her heart gave a vicious thud and she felt herself tense around him.

"You mean… the Goblins?"

He nodded, his blonde waves tickling her chin. "But my teacher said I should draw something else, so I drew the King and she didn't like that either. She said I draw the same thing all the time and I should draw a car, or a house, or a dog. But I didn't want to".

Sarah swallowed, trying to think of the best way to respond. She wondered wether he'd brought the pictures home and wether they would be like the ones he'd shown her before. Wether she'd look at them and recognise the figures he'd recreated.

"My friends liked them", Toby said, not realising how quiet Sarah had gone. "So did the King".

Her heart seemed to stop altogether. "The King? You saw him?"

"I always see him".

It took a moment before she felt brave enough to ask: "Where?"

"In his castle. It's where my friends live".

"And the King took you there?"

Nodding, Toby twisted in her arms until his blue eyes were the only thing that filled her vision. "He takes me there almost every night".


	6. Chapter 5

**Chapter Five:**

 _"You have come here, in pursuit of your deepest urge,_

 _In pursuit of that wish, which till now has been silent… silent."_

\- from _'The Point Of No Return'_ by Andrew Lloyd Webber

….

She dreamt of the theatre again.

That same velvet walled, gold plated, blood coloured theatre hall.

Sarah sat in the front row of the stalls, alone save for the wraiths that crowded the balconies above her. Last time she had felt quite motionless, an observer only entitled to sit still and see. Now she craned her neck back, taking a better look at the theatre at large and the figures that watched her. They seemed to be made of mist and shadows and they faded out of focus the longer she tried to settle her gaze on them, yet instinct told her they were watching her intently.

"You're not supposed to watch them".

She jumped, clutching the arms of her seat as she searched for the Goblin King. The velvet beneath her fingers was rough and worn, it scratched beneath her fingernails and she pulled her hands away sharply, trying to shake off the feel of the fabric.

"Not when they've come to watch you".

Climbing to her feet, Sarah turned in a full circle. There was no sign of the Goblin King and with her heart beating frantically, she ran for the nearest wall and followed it right around the auditorium, desperately seeking a door that would help her escape. But the walls were beautiful and patterned and empty of escapes.

"Sarah, Sarah, Sarah…" his voice was soft and chiding.

Bracing her hands against the wall in front of her, Sarah ducked her head, trying to steady her breathing.

"Why must you always be so over dramatic?"

She snorted. "You dragged me to an opulent theatre hall and _I'm_ being over dramatic?"

The quip had escaped before she could think and a quiet laugh echoed from behind her.

"I live in a world made of dreams", he breathed. "You must allow me my little… flourishes".

Sucking in a deep breath, she let her hands fall from the wall and turned slowly, pinning her green eyes on the mismatched gaze of the Goblin King.

He was leaning, (and she wondered how he managed to look so regal while doing it), against the end of a row of seats. He was dressed in swaths of blue, various shades of midnight and azure adorning him, from his waistcoat, loose shirt and form fitting pants. She could swear music thrummed as his lips tugged upwards into a half smile.

Her throat constricted. "This isn't real".

"Of course not".

He was magic and beauty and the shadows seemed to make him brighter as he stepped away from the seats, towards her.

"It's only a dream".

She tensed at his approach and raised her chin to counter it. "I'm not afraid of you".

"Then why are you shaking?"

"Because I'm _angry!_ "

Another two steps and he'd be on top of her.

She pressed her back into the wall. "What have you been doing with Toby?"

"Keeping him entertained".

"If you hurt him-"

"Do _not_ ", he was in front of her in an instant, his face close and his body a hairs breath away from hers. "Think so low of me as to imagine I would prey on a small child".

She shrank further into the wall, terrified that at any moment he might touch her. She felt that if he did, she might faint.

 _This isn't real. This isn't real. This isn't real._

"Of course not", she muttered. "You only steal babies, right?"

His mouth was a thin line as his eyes flickered over hers. It wasn't until he drew back and began wandering towards the stage that Sarah felt it was safe to loosen a breath.

"Toby has been wishing himself away almost every night".

Her breath hitched.

"And I have been obliging", he trailed one finger, encased in a bone white glove, along the edge of the stage. "Due to the rules I am bound by, he should not have been able to return to you. But I found a loophole".

The Goblin King… had been helping Toby? Sending him back to his family, when Toby really should have become a permanent fixture within the Labyrinth by now.

"How?"

Her voice was almost a whisper and the King turned an unreadable face to her.

"I made him an exception", he explained. "Toby spent thirteen hours with us as a wished away child. He should have become one of us, but you returned him to his natural world. That makes him very special. I'd go as far as to call him… unique".

"Please", Sarah's voice was small. "Please stop. He doesn't understand what he's doing".

The Goblin King's laugh rang out so sharply it made Sarah flinch. She was glad his back was still to her and he hadn't seen it.

"Aha, Sarah, after all this time, it is still you who does not understand".

He turned to face her, his smile pulling his thin lips dangerously upwards.

"I am, as I said, bound by rules. But then, rules have never applied to you, have they?"

Sucking in a deep breath, Sarah brazened herself out, lifting her chin. "I don't know what you mean. But if you won't let him go, I will find a way to stop you".

His lips parted and his smile became deadly, those pointed teeth gleaming. "Oh, Sarah", he laughed. "I'm counting on it".


End file.
